A solar cell including a laminated film comprising Cds and a chalcopyrite-type compound semiconductor such as CuInSe.sub.2 is is well known. Even though this solar cell is thin, its conversion efficiency is extremely high at about 15%. Like amorphous silicon-based solar cells, moreover, the properties of the solar cell including the laminated film are not deteriorated by light, and this solar cell is expected to replace crystalline silicon-type solar cells which are currently in use. (See Katsumi Kushiya, Nihon Kinzoku Gakkai Kaihou (Bulletin of the Metallurgy Society of Japan), vol. 30, pp. 930-935, 1991.)
However, this solar cell with the laminated film also has a problem, since it contains heavy metals such as Cd, Se, and the like, and these heavy metals are likely to be released at high temperatures, as in a fire, thus polluting the environment.